Jimmy Howard spent most of Game Four near toilet, didn't have concussion

DETROIT - Jimmy Howard was a late scratch before Game Four of the Red Wings and Bruins first round series because of a bout with the flu.

The veteran goaltender came down was not able to sit on the bench during the game, and Tuesday he revealed why.

"It all started around one o'clock in the afternoon. It just progressively got worse," he said. "It was the flu."

"I missed most of the game because I was in the toilet area," Howard said.

Speculation about Howard's condition grew as he sat out Game Five in Boston, too. There were reports of the Red Wings goaltender suffering a concussion.

He refuted the notion repeatedly.

"No, no, nothing. There was nothing. That was the weird part. When that came out, everyone's saying, 'Concussion.' It actually got my mom pretty nervous," Howard said.

He said there was nothing with a concussion. The reason he was off the ice, according to Howard, was "just the flu."

"The training staff and the medical staff tried to give me all the medication for myself to go out there and play with the guys, but as I got out there for warmups, everything just got worse and worse."

He said it was tough to go out that way, to watch his teammates and not be on the ice as they were eliminated.